Superlatives is where we talk about what we’re currently enjoying, high-school style. This week, we’ve selected our favorite passages from All the Time in the World, a new book by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins.

Most Specific Irreconcilable Difference
“His glamorous second wife, opera star, Ganna Walsha, complained of his constant headstanding when she filed for divorce.”

Worst Instance of a Chain Letter Gone Wrong
“Sometimes larger objects entered the mailed melee, as when Johnson received elephant dung from the Sacramento Zoo.”

Lowest Job Qualification Ever
“Rosetti’s only requirement was a love of beauty and a shared sense of fun.”

Most Illuminating Anecdote on the Doughnut Hole’s Origin
“When eating a fried cake and steering his ship through a swell in 1847, he impaled his cake on the ship’s wheel or so the story goes.”

Best Encouragement for Aspiring Artists
“Matisse’s painting teacher refused to comment on his distorted new vision, except to say, ‘Under the circumstances I really don’t see how any remarks that I might have to make could be of any particular service to you.’”